Carlo Ancelotti deserves the world of credit for how successful Real Madrid have been over the past three years. He has certainly never been given the best conditions to succeed. The squad has always been paper-thin and perennially struggled with injury problems. Yet, that has not affected the results on the pitch, with the Italian manager finding ways even when one did not seem to exist.
It looks like Ancelotti will be tasked with papering over the cracks once again this season. The area of concern is the centre-back position.
Nacho Fernandez has left this summer. And the club had been linked with the likes of Leny Yoro and Riccardo Calafiori. They missed out on both, with the former joining Manchester United while the latter has signed for Arsenal.
One thing Real Madrid have shown in recent years is that they will not make a signing just to fill a gap, if they do not believe that the right player is available. And so, it looks like the club are going to stick to the options they have at centre-back for now.
Real Madrid fans unhappy with Carlo Ancelotti's transfer update
As reported by AS, when asked whether they will sign a centre-back, Ancelotti said:
"The squad is complete. Vallejo has returned, Alaba is recovering. We have the youngsters: Joan, Jacobo and Raúl (Asencio). There are no departures because everyone wants to stay."
So, it looks like Real Madrid are not looking to sign a centre-back. Instead, they will be trusting the squad that they already have in place.
It is a risky approach for sure. David Alaba is still recovering from a long-term injury. Eder Militao returned from one towards the end of last season. Nacho has left. Antonio Rudiger is the only one who seems to be performing at his peak right now.
Nacho played meaningful minutes last season on top of being club captain. According to stats from Transfermarkt, he made 45 appearances and played 3126 minutes in total.
Will Jesus Vallejo and some unproven youngsters be able to fill his void in the squad? We shall see. Do not be surprised if Aurelien Tchouameni is back playing centre-back at some point this season. Do not be surprised if Real Madrid and Ancelotti still find a way to win, again and again.